Water heater



April 3, 1934. H. H. CHRISTENSEN 1,953,213

WATER HEATER Fi l ed out; 10.71935 H'ownnn H. (Hmsreussu v INVENTOR;

ATTORNEY.

Patented Apr. 3, 1934 omrso STATES PATENT 0FFIE 4 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in domestic water heaters and has for its principal object to provide a heater possessing the maximum amount of heating surface, thereby enabling the Water to be heated more rapidly and efficiently than is possible with the water heater now generally in use.

One of the important objects of the present invention is to provide a water heater wherein a series of semi-spirally arranged fire tubes or heat flues extend longitudinally through the water tank, the tubes or fiues being or" such construction as to provide an increased heating surface and at the same time taking care of the expansion and contraction that occurs.

Still a further object is to provide a water heater of the above mentioned character wherein the hot gases passing upwardly through the semispiral tubes will be retarded in their outward flow 20' so that the heat from the gases will be absorbed by the water very quickly.

A still further object resides in the provision of a water heater of the above mentioned character which includes a novel drip pan for disposition between the burner and the lower ends of the semi-spiral fire tubes for the purpose of collecting the condensation resulting from the products of combustion, thus preventing such condensation from accidentally putting out the flame and rendering the burner inoperative.

Another object is to provide a water heater of the above mentioned character which will at all times be positive and efficient in its operation, simple in construction, inexpensive in its manufacture, strong and durable.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing and the following description.

head of the Water tank, showing the relationship of the drip pan or plate with respect to the burner head and some of the fire tubes; and

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the drip pan per se.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 1 designates generally my improved water heater, the same comprising a cylindrical water tank 2, constructed preferably of copper, the top and bottom heads of this tank being designated by the numerals 3 and 4, respectively. A galvanized iron casing 5 surrounds the copper water tank 2 and any suitable insulating material such as asbestos or the like and designated by the numeral 6 is interposed between the copper tank 2 and the casing 5 as clearly shown in Figure 1.

The casing extends beyond the respective ends the water tank to provide a heat trap or drum 7 at the top of the water tank and from which trap or drum extends the flue 8 to carry off the 7 products of combustion into the atmosphere or a chimney.

Water is admitted to the tank 2 from any suitable source through the medium of a cold water inlet pipe shown at 9 while the hot water is ob- 7 tainable from the top of the tank 2 through the medium of the outlet pipe 10.

Forming a salient part of the present invention are the semi-spiral fire tubes or heat flues designed by the numeral 11 and any number of these tubes may be employed as is found desirable for obtaining maximum heating efficiency.

The semi-spiral tubes 11 extend vertically or longitudinally through the water tank 2 and the ends of these fire tubes are secured in openings provided therefor in the respective heads of the tank either by sweating or welding the tubes to the bottom and top heads.

Each firetube has its upper end extending through the top head 3 of the water tank 2 at a point diametrically opposite to the point where its lower end extends through the bottom head 4 of the water tank, and furthermore, each fire tube has its major portion disposed at an angle of approximately 45 degrees and this formation and arrangement of the fire tubes in the water tank provide for a maximum heating surface throughout the entire area of the water tank, thus bringing about the rapid and efiicient heating of the water in the tank with a minimum consumption of fuel.

A burner head designated generally by the numeral 12 is positioned below the bottom head 4 of the water tank 2 and a fuel pipe 13 supplies any suitable fuel to the burner head from any suitable source. The burner head is provided with a plurality of burners 14 which are located below the lower ends of the respective semi-spiral fire tubes 11 so that the hot gases pass upwardly into the semi-spiral fire tubes and are caused to pass through the water tank in a circuitous manner, the offset or spiral portions of the tubes tending to retard the flow of the hot gases through the tubes, whereby all of the heat will be absorbed by the water in the tank before the gases are discharged into the dome 7 and from which dome the products of combustion pass outwardly into the flue 8.

A thermostat 15 of any conventional construc tion is associated with the water heater for regulating the flow of the fuel to the burner head and it is, of course, understood that a pilot light is to be associated with the burner head for automatically lighting the burner when the supply of the fuel is shut off by the thermostat.

Also forming a salient part of the present invention is the drip plate or pan 16 that is removably supported between the burner head 12 and the bottom head 4 of the water tank 2. This drip plate or pan is provided with a series of openings 17 which register with the lower ends of the respective fire tubes 11 to permit the hot gases to pass upwardly into the fire tubes as indicated very clearly in Figure 3. An annular trough 18 is formed in the top face of the drip plate or pan 16 around each opening 17 to catch the condensation resulting from the products of combustion passing upwardly through the semi-spiral fire tubes 11 and these annular troughs 18 are in communication with each other through the medium of channels 19, thereby maintaining a uniform level of condensation on the drip plate. The condensation collecting on the drip plate may be either carried off or else caused to escape through the fiues or tubes 11 in the form of vapor.

The provision of this drip plate will prevent the condensation from falling onto the burners l4 and extinguishing the same, thus assuring at all times, the burner head being kept dry and in an operative condition.

A water heater of the above mentioned character will at all times be positive and efficient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed, and by constructing the semi-spiral fire tubes in the manner as shown and described, the same will take care of any expansion or contract-ion that may take place and furthermore, these fire tubes will cover substantially the entire area of the water tank, thereby assuring a maximum amount of heating surface.

While I have shown the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that minor changes in the size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A water heater comprising in combination, a tank having a water inlet, and a water outlet, a series of semi-spiral fire tubes extending longitudinally through the tank and being open at their respective ends, a burner head having burners positioned below the lower ends of the semi-spiral fire tubes, and a drip pan interposed between the burner head and the lower ends of the fire tubes, said drip pan having openings in communication with the lower ends of the fire tubes.

2. A water heater comprising in combination, a water tank having a water inlet, and a water outlet, a series of fire tubes extending vertically through the water tank, a burner head having burners positoned below and in communication with the lower ends of the fire tubes, a drip plate interposed between the burner head and the bottom of the water tank, said drip plate having openings in communication with the lower ends of the fire tube, and an annular condensation collecting trough formed around each opening in the drip plate.

3. A water heater comprising in combination, a water tank having a water inlet, and a water outlet, a series of fire tubes extending vertically through the water tank, a burner head having burners positioned below and in communication with the lower ends of the fire tubes, a drip plate interposed between the burner head and the bottom of the water tank, said drip plate having openings in communication with the lower ends of the fire tube, an annular condensation collecting trough formed around each opening in the drip plate, and intercommunicating channels between the annular troughs formed in the drip plate.

4. A water heater comprising in combination, a tank having a water inlet, and a water outlet, a series of fire tubes extending longitudinally through the tank and being open at their respective ends, a burner head having burners positioned below the lower ends of the fire tubes, and a drip pan interposed between the burner head and the lower ends of the fire tubes, said drip pan having openings in communication with the lower ends of the respective fire tubes.

HOWARD H. CHRISTENSEN. 

